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Hundreds seek medical help due to dust storm in southeastern Iranian province

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Dust storm Iran

Majid Mohebbi, the director of the province’s crisis management, told IRNA on Friday that 46 of those people had been hospitalized.

People sought emergency help over respiratory, cardiovascular, and sight complications, according to Mohebbi.

Those referrals to hospitals and other medical centers had taken place in the five counties of Zabol, Zahak, Hamoun, Hirmand, and Nimrouz over the past three days, he said.

The storm packed winds of up to 110 kph. Mohebbi said all emergency and rescue personnel were on alert across the province for potential deployment.

Sistan and Baluchestan is located in a hot and dry region and receives low rainfall compared to other regions. Affected by the Asian monsoon, the northern parts of the province experience strong winds and dust storms for 120 days during the hot months of the year.

Iran very sensitive to claims about three Persian Gulf islands: Army commander

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Naaz Islands in Persian Gulf

At an event with other military commanders, Major General Mousavi said, “We are sensitive about every iota of our soil, and we will not neglect for a moment protecting the Islamic Republic of Iran’s borders and interests, from the northernmost to the southernmost spot of the sacred land of Iran.”

“We are very sensitive to… whatever is said every now and then about the Islamic Republic of Iran’s lands,” the Iranian commander said.

The remarks came amid uproar inside Iran about a move by Russia to take sides with Arab countries over the three islands of Abu Musa, the Greater Tunb, and the Lesser Tunb in the Persian Gulf.

Russia signed a joint communique with the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) at the end of a ministerial meeting in Moscow on Monday that supported the United Arab Emirates’ efforts in pursuing sovereignty over the three Iranian islands.

The statement “affirmed… support for all peaceful efforts, including the initiative of the United Arab Emirates and its endeavours to reach a peaceful solution to the issue of the three islands… through bilateral negotiations or the International Court of Justice.”

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said later that the three islands belonged to Iran “for eternity” and that the stance was not consistent with Iran’s friendly relations with its neighbors.

Raisi says goal of Africa tour was ‘to strengthen Iran’s strategic depth’

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Ebrahim Raisi

At Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport, and upon his return from Africa on Friday morning, Raisi said the African Continent shouldn’t be ignored.

“Contacts with the African Continent, just like contacts with countries in Asia and other places in the world, are important, and this land of opportunities should not be ignored,” Raisi said.

He said African countries were interested in the 1979 Islamic Revolution’s values and added that relations with those countries had been neglected in the past years.

The Iranian president said a second goal of his trips was to enhance economic and trade ties, adding that African countries were interested in Iran’s knowledge-based products.

Another goal was to farm out basic products, Raisi said. “Barter trade was planned with these countries, under which Iran would receive basic goods in return for petrochemical products.”

The Iranian president went on a three-leg tour of Kenya, Uganda, and Zimbabwe this week. During those visits, agreements were signed on bilateral cooperation in different fields.

In his Friday remarks, Raisi said the world is not limited to Western countries, and that Iran and African countries had common stances on such issues as fighting unilateralism, human rights, protecting the institution of the family, etc.

Iranians bid farewell to renowned poet Ahmad Reza Ahmadi

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Iranians bid farewell to renowned poet Ahmad Reza Ahmadi

The mourning ceremony was held in Tehran on Thursday morning with the presence of hundreds of Ahmadi’s fans as well as literature and arts lovers.

Ahmadi died earlier this week after months of health complications.

Ahmadi is known to be the founder of the new wave of poetry and the pioneer of surrealism in children’s literature in Iran.

Literature, poetry, writing and cinema were the main fields of his professional activities.

IMF predicts Iran’s inflation to shrink in 2024

By
IFP Media Wire
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Iran Economy

Figures from an IMF report cited by Iran’s official IRNA agency on Wednesday showed that the international lender expects Iran’s inflation rate would drop to around 30% in 2024, down from 49% in 2022 and lower than a figure of 42% estimated for this year.

It said the IMF expects more than 76% of the world’s economies would experience a gradual drop in their inflation rates in 2023 and in next year.

However, regional economies like Turkey would still face higher inflation rates compared to Iran in the two years to the end of 2024.

The IMF report projected that Iran’s economy would continue to expand at a stable rate of 2% in 2023 and in 2024, half a percentage point lower than the growth figure reported for last year.

However, the lender stipulated that high economic growth rates expected for countries like China and India would translate into increased demand for Iranian oil and would boost the country’s economic prospects next year despite the fact that oil prices are expected to fall to levels below $70 a barrel in 2024.

The IRNA report noted that lower oil prices would hardly impact Iran’s economy in the near future as the country has significantly cut its reliance on oil revenues.

It added, however, that Iran’s accession earlier this month to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a major political and economic bloc of countries led by China and India, would create major trade and economic benefits for Iran given that those economies are expected to expand at a record pace in the near future.

Iran rejects claims in NATO summit communique

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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NATO

The two-day summit was held in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius to discuss the Russian war on Ukraine and Sweden’s accession to the military alliance.

In a final communique on Tuesday, the heads of state and government of NATO countries expressed concern about Iran’s “escalation of its nuclear programme,” and what they called “malicious activities within Allied territory,” support for Russia, and “destabilizing actions, including seizures of maritime vessels,” in the Persian Gulf region.

The Iranian Embassy in the Belgian capital, where the NATO headquarters is also located, later issued a statement rejecting those allegations.

It called claims about Iran’s involvement in the Ukraine war “unfounded” and reiterated Iran’s official stance of neutrality in the conflict as well as respect for the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of all countries including Ukraine.

The mission said that while Iran was adhering to international law, a number of NATO countries were actively supporting riots in Iran by giving refuge to and aiding terrorist elements and organizations inside of the country.

“Furthermore, Iran has played a constructive role in assisting regional countries to confront destabilizing forces, which are mainly supported from outside of the region,” the Iranian Embassy said.

The statement by the mission reiterated Iran’s continued compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), even though, it said, several NATO countries, “which are parties to the JCPOA as well,” had consistently violated their own obligations under the deal.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran calls on NATO member states to stop leveling baseless accusations against Iran and perform their commitments under the United Nations Charter,” it said.

4 Pakistani soldiers killed in raid on army base

By
IFP Media Wire
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Pakistan Border Guard

Another five soldiers were critically wounded, the army said in a statement. At least three armed fighters were killed in retaliatory fire, and an operation was under way to apprehend two other attackers, it added.

Several fighters stormed the military base in Northern Balochistan’s Zhob district in the early hours, according to the army.

Security officials stated that the armed fighters fought a gun battle for several hours after hurling hand grenades inside a military mess.

“Initial attempt of terrorists to sneak into the facility was checked by soldiers on duty,” the army said, and added that “in ensuing heavy exchange of fire, the terrorists have been contained into a small area at the boundary.

“A clearance operation by security forces is under way to apprehend remaining two terrorists as well,” the statement added.

A newly founded group called Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan (TJP) claimed responsibility, saying in a statement it would release the pictures and videos of their fighters who took part in the attack.

The mineral-rich southern province that borders Afghanistan and Iran has faced a decades-old ethnic separatist uprising.

Bordering Iran and Afghanistan, Balochistan is strategically important because of its rich copper, zinc and natural gas reserves. Cities in the province are a constant target of armed groups.

Much of the violence is seen as a reaction by rebels to China’s investment plans in the region to link its Xinjiang province with the Arabian Sea in Balochistan through a network of roads and railways.

Attacks targeting law enforcement officers and workers, especially those involved with projects initiated by China under a $62bn investment plan, have grown in frequency in recent years.

Authorities claim to have quelled the armed uprising, but violence persists. The restive province has also seen attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Daesh armed groups.

The TTP have stepped up attacks since revoking a ceasefire agreement with the government in late 2022, including the bombing of a mosque in the northwestern city of Peshawar that killed more than 100 people in January.

Islamabad says rebel groups have rebased their operations to Afghanistan, which Kabul denies.

Mahmoud Abbas visits Jenin amid frustration with Palestinian Authority

By
IFP Media Wire
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Mahmoud Abbas

The 87-year-old arrived by helicopter from the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) headquarters in Ramallah and visited the Jenin refugee camp and the cemetery where many Palestinians killed by Israeli forces are buried.

Three senior PA officials were heckled by crowds at the same cemetery last week when they attended the funerals for the 12 Palestinians killed in Israel’s large-scale offensive in early July.

Many Palestinians feel let down by the PA for its inaction during the raid, which over two days damaged or destroyed more than 80 percent of homes in the camp and displaced some 4,000 people.

According to local reports, almost 1,000 Palestinian armed guards were deployed in Jenin to secure Abbas’ visit.

Speaking to crowds in Jenin, Abbas called the refugee camp there an “icon of struggle and steadfastness” and vowed to rebuild the camp, left in ruins by the Israeli raid.

He also issued a stern warning to those who he said want to disrupt Palestinian unity.

“We came to say that we are one authority, one state, one law… and we will cut off the hand that tampers with the unity and security of our people,” he said.

The brief visit lasted nearly two hours before Abbas returned by helicopter to Ramallah.

Abbas’ security bubble stands in stark contrast to his predecessor Yasser Arafat, who prior to his death in 2004 would regularly travel among Palestinian cities, drawing huge crowds.

Abbas on the other hand rarely travels outside of Ramallah, the seat of the PA.

The last time he toured Palestinian cities, including Jenin, Nablus and Hebron, was in 2012.

Under Abbas, the PA has become distant from the lives of ordinary Palestinians and seemingly unable to provide basic services or find a solution to the regular Israeli raids throughout the occupied West Bank.

Israeli attacks have particularly spiked in the last two years, with Palestinian fatalities in the West Bank reaching record levels not seen since the Second Intifada, before Abbas became president.

The PA, established in 1994 following the Oslo Accords, holds devolved authority over parts of the occupied West Bank and was supposed to mark the first tentative step towards Palestinian sovereignty and negotiations over the creation of an independent state.

In the years since its creation, however, it has become widely unpopular over its corruption, authoritarianism and security cooperation with Israel. Abbas has also long outstayed his mandate as president.

The PA’s collapse would see governance of the occupied territory fully returned to the Israeli state, as was the case between 1967, when Israel conquered the territory, and 1993.

Russia says Wagner has handed over heavy weapons

By
IFP Media Wire
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Wagner Group

The Wagner Group private military company has surrendered more than 2,000 pieces of military hardware to Russia’s military inventory, the country’s Defense Ministry said on Wednesday. The transfer process is going “according to plan” and is nearing completion.

The inventory includes hundreds of heavy weaponry pieces, including main battle tanks of various types, multiple rocket launcher systems, self-propelled and towed artillery, anti-aircraft systems, and other combat vehicles, the ministry announced in a statement.

The military also released a video, showing rows of tracked and wheeled combat vehicles, as well as other equipment kept at undisclosed locations.

Dozens of combat vehicles transferred by the PMC group “have never been used in a combat environment,” the military noted. The group also surrendered over 2,500 tons of assorted ammunition as well as around 20,000 firearms.

The equipment is currently being transferred to rear field sites for maintenance, the ministry stated. Afterwards, it will be transferred to Russian military units for its “intended use,” the ministry concluded.

The Wagner Group, a private military company, has seen extensive action amid the ongoing hostilities with Ukraine. Prigozhin ended up becoming entangled in a public conflict with the Defense Ministry, repeatedly accusing it of withholding supplies from the group. The conflict was apparently aggravated by an ongoing effort to incorporate loose volunteer groups, active in the formerly Ukrainian Donbass for years already, into Russia’s military structure.

It culminated in a short-lived mutiny staged by the group in late June. Prigozhin accused the Defense Ministry of launching deadly strikes on a Wagner camp, vowing retaliation, and capturing within hours several military installations in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, while some forces marched on Moscow.

The group’s leader ultimately backed down the next day, with the mediation of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Under the deal, Moscow agreed to drop the criminal case against the Wagner chief, with Prigozhin himself consenting to move to Belarus.

Iran’s Raisi says West putting independent countries under pressure

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Ebrahim Raisi

Western countries, he said, attack family values, promote “the obnoxious phenomenon” of homosexuality, support radicalism and terrorism, and exploit human rights as an instrument.

Raisi, who was speaking at a joint meeting of high-ranking Iranian and Ugandan officials in the African state on Wednesday, said such independent countries as Iran and Uganda had to increase cultural cooperation to fight off enemy pressure.

He said Iran and Uganda both had an anti-colonialism nature.

Raisi arrived in the Ugandan capital of Kampala on Wednesday, on the second leg of an African tour. Earlier, he was in Kenya, where he promoted the enhancement of relations with African nations.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said his country was keen to enhance economic relations with Iran.

Separately, Raisi and Museveni presided over a session of officials from the two countries signing four documents on bilateral cooperation, including in the area of agriculture.

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